


bAcK iN TiMe

by phantemp



Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: Dan Howell - Freeform, M/M, Multi, Phil Lester - Freeform, lawyer dan
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-18
Updated: 2016-08-31
Packaged: 2018-07-15 17:11:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 13,813
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7231414
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/phantemp/pseuds/phantemp
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What would have happened to them if they had never met?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. pRoLoGuE

**Author's Note:**

> (I got this idea as I was listening to heathens)  
> (BTW WHAT A GREAT SONG)
> 
> and my chapter titles are not inspired by Zayn I swear  
> (although he makes some good a$$ shit)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is my first chaptered fic that I've written in like 3 years so if its bad I'm sorry

_"Do I need cereal?"_

_I walked down the cereal isle, and made my way to the Frosties._

_I was distracted by the big red letters on the box beside it._

_"YOU COULD WIN A CAMERA FROM SPOTLESS!"_

_A camera? That sounds interesting._

_I thought it over in my mind._

_"I don't need a camera. Those contests are all a scam anyway."  
_

_I made my way down the isle to finish my shopping._


	2. jOb sEaRcH

" _Dammit"_

"What's wrong Phil?" Cherry said to me. 

"I got rejected, _again_." I put my head in my hands, admitting defeat. I've been trying to get a new job for at least three months. The rent hasn't been paid and it was due almost a week ago. I've been behind on bills and life seems like such _utter shit._  

"It's okay babe. You'll get a job I promise," She said kissing my cheek.

"Cherry I don't think you understand. This is the eighth job I've been rejected from. This seems hopeless," I said throwing down the papers and leaning back on the couch. I ran my hands over my face in frustration. 

"Can't you just call and get your old job back?" she said out of curiosity. 

"Honey I don't think the station will want me back. They've already got a new weather guy and he's so handsome and good at his job. I can't call and ask for a job that someone else is doing better than I ever did." 

"Phil. You were one of the best weathermen that I've ever seen. You've gotten awards for Christ sake. I believe you can find a job you're equally as good at as the last one." She kissed my cheek and rested her head on my shoulder. "You just have to keep looking and who knows, something will come up. I promise." 

She took my hand and kissed it. "I love you," she said.

"I love you too." I looked at her lovingly. She reached up and kissed me softly. 

"No matter what?" she asked resting her head on my chest. 

"No matter what." 

-

"Look I will have the rent by next week, _I promise_." 

"You said the same thing last week. I don't have my money so what the fuck is going on Lester?" my landlord yelled at me. 

I blew out a breath of air. "Please, I haven't had a job for the past few months and money has been tight and-"

"No excuses!" He yelled. "Today is Friday right? You either have the money by next Friday or I'm kicking your ass out. No more extensions. I'm being nice by giving you this much extra time to pay me and this is the _last_ and _only_  time I'm doing this. Are we clear?" 

"Yes sir." I said swallowing. 

"Good. I'll see you next Friday," he said walking out of my flat. He slammed the door so hard I could have sworn the hinges might have come off. 

"Fucking hell," I said running my hands through my hair. 

"Babe." I turned around to see Cherry. "Look I have about half the money and if I take some extra shifts at the coffee shop I might be able to get-"

"Cherry, I don't need you doing that. I promised I would handle these things." 

"But you're struggling and I don't want you to do that. I don't like seeing you stressed out because it makes me sad." 

"Cherry honey" I said holding her face. "Don't worry about it please. I've got it under control. Just please be patient, okay?" I kissed her nose. "I promise I will have the money by Friday and when I give it to him we can do something special if you want. Does that sound good?"

She nodded. "That sounds good baby." She smiled. God she's beautiful. 

"I love you, so much," She said hugging me. She rested her head under my chin while I ran my fingers through her light brown hair. "Please don't forget that." 

"I never will." 

-

_Howell & Son's: Law Firm_

_Searching for an assistant to business lawyers._

_Requirements:_

_Experience_ _with basic filing and research._

_Must know: how to work a coffee machine._

_Must have: positive, outgoing attitude._

_Must be: willing to enter trial courtroom if necessary._

_05764 432887_

_howellandsonslaw@hotmail.com_

_-_

"I got an interview!" I yelled holding up the papers. 

"Wait what?" Cherry said walking out of the kitchen. "Oh my god babe that's amazing." 

She hugged me tightly and I picked her up and swiveled her around in pure joy. 

"I could get a job. I could get a job and we could have money and oh my god I'm so happy." I smiled as big as I possibly could. 

"I'm so proud of you babe. You have no idea. When's the interview?" she said as I put her down.

"It's tomorrow at ten. I think I can will myself out of bed a bit earlier than one for this." I laughed. 

"Are you sure you're ready for this? Like what were they looking for? Are you qualified?"

"I'm sure I'm qualified to work a coffee machine. Don't worry I'll be fine," I said kissing her on the forehead. "I need to figure out what I'm gonna wear. I can't look out of place when there are people in designer suits all around me." I made my way to our bedroom to pick something out. Cherry followed, leaning on the door frame.

"I'm sure you'll look handsome in whatever you decide to wear," She smiled. She walked over to me and put her arms around my torso. "You always look sexy in everything." 

"Thank you babe," I laughed. I turned around in her arms. "What was that compliment for?" 

"I just want to...celebrate you finally getting an interview." She looked up at me with a half smile. 

"Well then, let's celebrate."

-

"So what makes you think you can work with us?" 

He clicked his pen and started writing something down. I was sat in a beige room with a desk and two chairs. Certificates and awards were hung all over the room. An older man with brownish grey hair sat in front of me. 

"Well, I think I am the best candidate for this job. I like to think I'm outgoing and I'm pretty quick when it comes to research and paperwork." 

A lot of people say that you should be relaxed when you're going into a job interview. That being calm, cool, and collected is the best option. Well, I am calm, cool, and collected. On the outside. 

I'm terrified on the inside. 

"I'll give you this scenario. A man was driven into the side of a concrete bridge. Both men say it was the other mans fault. How would you go about finding out who did what?" he asked me. Personally I thought this what a bit stupid and what did this have to do with the interview, but I need this job. 

"Well, I think you would just need to ask a few witnesses and probably take a look at the cameras near the bridge. If there are any of course. That and taking a look at both of the cars, speaking to both the victims and-"

"Can you operate a coffee machine?" he interrupted. 

"Yeah, most of them."

"Can you start tomorrow?" he asked looking directly at me. 

"Um, yeah. Yeah I definitely can. Does this mean I got the job?" I ask. 

"I did ask if you could start tomorrow? That's usually what people usually say when they've given someone a job." He laughed.

"Thank you. Thank you so much. You don't know how much this means to me." I smiled. 

"Yeah don't get sentimental. I'll see you tomorrow. Do you remember how to get out of the building?" he asked as we both started to stand up. 

"Yeah I think so. Thanks again. This means a lot." 

"You said that already." 

"Well, I'll get out before I can repeat myself. Thanks Mr..?"

"Howard. Howard Howell. Have a great day Phil Lester," He smiled and made his way back to his office. 

I had to remind myself that I just had an interview with the owner of a law firm. A successful law firm that has a zero percent failure rate.

I had to remind myself that I now have a job.

I almost audibly screamed.

I reached the lift and pulled out my cell phone. I texted Cherry.

_**Phil** _

_Guess who got the job !!!_

_**Cherry <3** _

_Congratulations sweetie! We can celebrate when we get home. I'll make us dinner._

**_Phil_ **

_Sounds great_

**_Cherry <3_ **

_I'm proud of you <3_

I put my phone away when the doors to the lift open. A tall brunette walks in paying no attention to me. He looks up and nods for a second. 

"Are you our new intern?" he asks looking down at his phone. 

"No, I just got a job as an assistant. I start tomorrow," I say looking at him. 

"Oh," He puts his phone in his pocket. The lift reaches the ground floor and the doors open. "You're probably mine. See you tomorrow!" he yelled as he got out and exited the building. 

I think I just met my boss. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> woo that was the first chapter.  
> what do you think so far? should I keep writing this?  
> is it bad?  
> tell me


	3. tHe FiRsT dAy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dan(k) Howell smokes the dankest weed

"I wish I could stay in bed, but I have work today," I said untangling myself from Cherry's arms.

"Ugh but I want to lay in bed with you all day," She said wrapping her arms around me again. "I've liked not having you up at two am every morning. It's new to have you in bed." 

"Yeah but I have to get up. I need to go to work." 

Cherry pouted. 

"At least it isn't two am," I smiled. I kissed her forehead and got out of bed. 

7:47 is what my alarm clock projected in bright green characters. I didn't have to be there for another hour and fifteen minutes, but you want to be early on your first day. 

And it doesn't help that the firm is all the way across London. 

I put on a white button down shirt and a tie with black trousers. If it's what I wore for the interview and they didn't have any complaints, then I should be fine wearing it to the real thing.  

7:59

"I have to go babe. I love you," I said kissing her head. No movement came from her. She probably fell back asleep. 

I walked out the front door and made my way to the train station. 

-

"Ah, Philip. Good morning. Happy first day at work," Howard greeted me. "I'll show you where to put your stuff."

He led me towards the back of the offices and near a cluster of desks. There was a blonde lady sitting across from an empty desk that was probably going to be mine. 

"Here you go Philip. You will be sharing this space with Louise. I'm sure once you get the hang of things you'll find working here to be a bit smoother. Have fun!" he said patting me on the back and walking back to the front of the building. I sat down at my desk.

"Hi. I'm Louise. Are you replacing Charlie?" 

"I don't know him." I smiled.

"That's okay. He wasn't the best assistant. I think he tried to hit on a few of the lawyers at one point. That's not the reason he got fired though." 

"Why did he get fired?" I ask as I start setting things out on my desk. 

"To be quite honest, no one really knows. I think there was a rumour that he tried hitting on Dan and he did _not_ like that-"

"Excuse me, um, who's this Dan?" I ask. 

"Dan? Dan Howell? You mean who you're assisting? One of the best lawyers in all of England? You really don't know who he is?" she seemed appalled. 

"I think I met him in the lift yesterday as I was leaving. He seems nice." I said setting down a picture of Cherry. 

"He's very nice, but don't get in the way when he's researching for a case. Even if you ask him if he wants a coffee he'll get pissed."

"Good to know." I kept putting things down on my desk. Louise looked over. 

"Ooh who's this?" She asked picking up the picture of Cherry. 

"Oh that's my girlfriend," I said looking for more things in the box.

"She's pretty." 

"Very." I said. 

"How long have you two been together?" She asked setting the picture back down. 

I had to stop and think. "About two years? Two and a half I believe." 

"Aw, that's adorable." 

"I know I am. Thanks Louise." Suddenly, Dan (or who I thought was Dan) walked through. "I'm guessing you're Phil. Nice to properly meet you." He put out his hand for me to shake. I shook it and my _god_ , was his grip strong. 

"Nice to properly meet you as well." He let go of the death grip on my hand and walked towards his office. Once he was inside, I could wallow in pain. 

"I swear to god I think he broke my hand. Jesus Christ," I said cowering. 

Louise laughed. "I should have warned you. He's great at giving handshakes." 

"Great or incredibly powerful?" 

"Hm both," she said looking back to her computer. 

"If you don't mind me asking, who are you the assistant for?" I said shaking my hand. 

"Oh, I'm just the general assistant. I get put with a different case when needed. You're quite lucky actually that you're only assisting _one_ person."

"Why am I lucky?" I ask, kicking the now empty box under my desk. 

"Because you don't have to _get to know_ every lawyer in this firm. Honestly when Charlie was fired I hoped to God that they would put me in his spot so I didn't have to be stuck guessing who I was gonna work with, but you came along like the day after he got fired."

"Well, I'm sorry I took your dream job then," I chuckled. 

"It's okay. I'm mostly getting paid for making coffee." 

"Well that's a plus." I laugh. 

"Lester, get in here," Dan yells from the hall. 

"And my job starts now," I said getting off my chair. I made my way to Dan's office, I stopped to stare. There were many more certificates and awards than Howard's office. "You needed me?" 

"Yes. I just wanted to make sure you settled in nicely. That no one is intimidating you or anything." He smiled. 

"Um, actually no. I'm getting settled and no one is intimidating me. Thanks for asking. It means a lot-" 

"Good. Can you make me a coffee? Milk and one sugar please," He smiled.

I inaudibly sighed. "Coming right up."

I passed by Louise with a 'I'm going to regret choosing this job aren't I?' face.

She just laughed.

-

I look looked over some of Dan's notes. He was just with a client who apparently claimed that their grandfather owed them the money in the will, but the actual will stated that another person was going to get it. 

_Verbally stated $$ J_

_Will stated $$ P_

_J at least half of $$ or sue_

_Sue anyway_

Given they weren't the _best_  notes, but I shouldn't mess with one of the best lawyers in England (apparently). 

"What do you want me to do with these notes?" I mumble to myself. 

"You can't read them can you?" Louise stated. 

"No I can read them, I just don't understand what he wants me to do with them. He just said research that for me and I'm just...confused." 

"Let me see them," Louise said reaching her hand out. I put the notes in her hand and she read them over. "I think he wants you to find out who actually gets the money." 

"But shouldn't that be his job?" I asked as Louise gave the notes back to me. 

"I'm not Dan Howell. Don't question his work process." 

It's quite funny. Whenever I question something about Dan it's always something like "Don't talk about that." or "Don't question it. Let him do it how he likes."   
How different could his method of work be that it requires people to say " _Shut up_ " when people question it? 

"Okay Louise." 

She looked at me like she was scared for me. 

_"He's gonna blow up in your face one day I guarantee it."_ she mumbled. 

-

"How was your day sweetie?" Cherry greeted me. "Must have been busy if you're getting back at 10."

"It was...eventful, to say the least. I'm already doing research on a case." I said taking off my shoes.

"Oh really? What about?" 

"Just about sorting a will. Money stuff, should be easy." 

"That's nice. Something easy to get you started. Have you done anything else?"

"I've made coffee three times."

Cherry laughed. "Well it did say that in the application," She hugged me. "I'm proud of you babe." 

"Thank you. I'm so exhausted." 

"I bet." She let go of me. "Why don't you take a shower and I'll make you a cup of tea. How does that sound?" 

"Sounds great. Thank you babe," I said kissing her forehead. I walked off to our bathroom and turned on the hot water. I took off my clothes and got in the shower. After I adjusted the water a bit, I just stood there. 

I tend to do this a lot. 

It just feels nice sitting there, warm water running down your back and the steam feels nice and cleansing. I highly recommend this. 

After a long day of work, standing in a steaming shower feels like heaven. You can feel your muscles relax and everything is at ease. Stress seems to go down the drain.

After I actually cleaned myself, I turned the water off and quickly dried myself off. I wrapped a towel around my torso, and walked out to our bedroom. I saw my phone light up out of the corner of my eye. 

_**+0536683988** _

_where are you_

_**+0536683988** _

_I need a moment of your time if you don't mind_

_**+0536683988** _

_I need those notes I gave you earlier_

I could only assume this is Dan, but why the hell was he texting me at almost 10:30 pm? 

_**Phil** _

_I put the notes back on your desk after I made a copy_

**_Dan_ **

_I don't see them_

**_Phil_ **

_I put them on top of your desk calendar thing_

**_Dan_ **

_found them_

_**Dan**  
_

_Forget I said any of that_

**_Phil_ **

_Will do_

I need to sleep. 


	4. sTrEsS

Recently, Dan has been getting on my nerves, but when doesn't he. 

I've been working at the firm for almost a month and let me tell you how much I wish I had my old job. It's not bad here, really, but compared to my old job (which is something that I actually wanted to do) this isn't my most favourite. 

It's all about _Phil get me this, no Phil don't do that, Phil you've done it the wrong way, Phil god dammit._ But, I have to play nice, cooperate. Or else I am going to get fired. 

Like I did from all of my other jobs. 

I don't know what it is. I never have gotten the chance to quit. You know how you see those people on TV who quit in a big way, that's been my dream.   
It's never happened. 

"Phil, could you get me the folder for the dog biting that girl's leg? Please bring it to my office," Dan said walking past me. 

I put my head in my hands, and sighed. 

"Looks like you're stressed," Louise said putting something down in a file. "What's up?"

"Don't you know? I mean, can't you tell? That man has got me working half to death." I stood up and looked through the filing cabinet. 

"Well, you are his assistant after all." 

"Yeah, but I wasn't expecting him to be such a bossy little baby." I found the file, and took a deep breath. _He won't get to me._

"Phil?" Louise asked. 

"Yeah?" 

"You've been standing there for about three minutes. Are you okay? If anything I can give him the file-" 

"No Louise, it's okay. I'm fine, I'll give it to him," I said starting to make my way to his office. 

The door was slightly open, so I pushed my way in. I heard Dan yelling. 

"No I told you that I would take care of it."

I don't think he noticed that I was here. 

"I don't think you understand. I need you to be there when I- yeah, yeah alright. Well what else are you going to do for-that fucking bitch," Dan yelled putting his phone down and pinching the bridge of his nose. 

"Um," I said quietly. "I have that file you wanted." 

"Yeah just put them down," he sighed. 

"You okay?" I said after I put the file down on the coffee table. "That seemed to be pretty heated."

"Now I don't think that's any of your business." He snapped. 

"Um o-"

"Sorry, sorry sorry sorry. God I'm such a dick," He said putting his head in his hands. 

"No you're not," I said going closer to him. "You just seem stressed. And to be honest I am too. I was gonna go out to get some lunch. Do you want to come? I'll pay." 

"No you don't have to do that-" 

"But I want to. I would like to get out of this dingy office for a while. It doesn't even have to be personal. We could talk about work and-" 

"And why would you think I want to talk about work when I'm out of work?" He looked at me. 

"Well, I was just-" 

"I'm pulling your leg. It's fine. We can go in a few minutes," He said starting to get his stuff together. 

"Okay, you know where to find me." I made his way out of his office and back to my office. 

"You were in there for longer than you needed to be. What happened?" Louise asked. 

"Oh nothing," I said grabbing my sweater of my chair. "I'm just going out to lunch with Dan." 

"You, you're going out to _lunch_ , with _Dan Howell_?" 

"Yeah? Is that a bad thing?" I asked. 

"No no, it's just, I've worked here longer than Dan has, and I've never seen him go out to lunch once. He must like you," Louise smiled. 

"I don't think so. Maybe he just wants to get out of the office." 

"And that I do, so lets leave," Dan said walking in front of me. 

"That's my que."

"Have fun on your date!" Louise said after me. 

I almost went back and slapped her.  

-

"I haven't been out of the office in a while. I never go out," Dan said looking at a menu. 

"I haven't been out in a while either." I responded. "This is a nice change."

At the moment, it was peaceful. Dan and I were sitting in a Chinese restaurant, both of us quiet. It's quite nice actually. Dan seems like a really nice guy, once I got to know him. (But when he's stressed, he can be stressful let me tell you.) We talked for a bit while walking here. 

"So, if I may ask a question," Dan said putting down the menu. 

"Go ahead," I said still looking at mine. 

"Do you like your job?" 

I put down my menu and looked at him. "If I'm being completely honest, it's quite stressful, but it's fun, sometimes." 

"Do you think I'm paying you enough?" 

"How about we _not_ talk about work at lunch. Why don't we talk about more, personal things. You start."

"Okay, um. How old are you?" he asked. "Kind of a dumb question, but I'm trying."

"It's okay. Currently I am twenty five." 

"I'm only twenty two." 

"Really? You don't look twenty two. I swear I thought you were older." I said taking a sip of my drink. 

"How old do you think I look?" he laughed.  

"About twenty four. I swear you don't look that young." he smiled. 

"Well thanks Phil," He said like I insulted him. 

I laughed. "You know what I mean."

"Yeah yeah. Just make more comments about my age," he took a sip of his drink and smiled. 

-

_"So how long have you two been together?" Dan asked as we were walking back from lunch. (It kind of was an extended lunch because neither of us wanted to leave.)_

_"About two and a half years."_

_"Do you have a picture of her?" Dan asked._

_"Yeah one sec." I pulled out my phone and scrolled through my photo album. "Here she is."_

_"Wow, she's pretty."_

_"I think so." I smiled, putting my phone back in my pocket. "_ _Have you really never dated anyone?"_

_"Well, I haven't dated anyone in a while. No one I've been interested in, and work kind of keep me from finding someone."_

_"That's too bad. We'll have to hook you up, Howell."_

_He laughed. "Nah you don't have to do that. I'll find someone when the time is right, or something."_

-

"Cherry, I'm home," I said closing the front door. It was currently 11:30pm, so I didn't expect her to be up. 

"Cherry pie?" I said walking up to our bedroom. I found her passed out on the bed. (She could never stay up late.) 

I got out of my work clothes and started a shower. Once I was almost done, I heard a noise. 

"Cherry? Is that you?" 

"Yeah." 

"Did I wake you?" 

"No." 

"Are you okay?" I asked turning the water off. I got out and wrapped a towel around my waist. I didn't even know what time it was. I stepped out of the bathroom to find Cherry sitting up on the bed. 

"Hey," I said. I looked over to the clock. 12:15. 

She looked at me, but didn't respond. 

"What's the matter?" I said walking towards her. 

"You're the matter," she said yawning. 

"Why am I the matter?" I asked sitting on the opposite side of the bed. 

She looked at me with a glare. "You've been coming home late everyday and I miss you." 

"Aw babe I'm sorry. Dan keeps me holed up at work. I promise I will-"

"No you don't understand!" she yelled. It took me aback; I've never heard her yell like that.   
She looked up at me with tears in her eyes. 

"You didn't pay the rent, did you?" She said on the brink of tears. 

I put my head in my hands and groaned. I forgot to pay the _fucking_ rent like I was supposed to. "No, _shit_. I didn't."

"I had to pay him today, _in cash,_ which is all the money I had in my account and now I'm overdrawn and-" 

"Fuck," I groaned. "Shit, babe I'm so sorry. I won't let it happen again." 

"You said you had it covered and I trusted you. This isn't the first time this has happened Phil. I never want it to happen again," She cried. I felt enormously guilty. "And, and it shouldn't even be a big deal because I should be paying for some of it at least. But the fact that this has happened more than once makes me lose trust in you." 

"Look," I said sitting next to her. "I promise I won't let it happen again." 

"You better not," She sniffled. "I'm going to bed." She lay back down, her back facing me. 

"Me too." I stood up from the bed and started to change. 

"I would like you to sleep on the couch," She said quietly. 

I sighed. "Fair enough." 

I continued changing, and headed out into the living room. 

I don't think I've ever slept on the couch.

-

"Morning Phil," Louise greeted me. I just looked at her. 

"Ooooh. What's wrong mister grumpy pants." 

"Nothing it's just, I f-had an argument with my girlfriend last night and I had to sleep on the couch." 

"What did you do?" she asked. 

"I forgot to pay the rent on my flat and she had to pay it out of pocket. I should have remembered. Do you have any ibuprofen per chance?" I said logging into my computer.

"Damn," she said getting out two tablets. "She must really be mad if she made you sleep on the couch." She handed them to me and I took them gratefully.

"Yeah, but this isn't the first time it's happened," I said popping the pills in my mouth and washing it down with water. 

"Oh so this is a trend?" she chuckled. 

"I don't need this Louise," I joked. "Thanks for the pills."

"That sounds like we just made an illegal drug deal." Louise laughed. I smiled. "I'm gonna get coffee. Do you want anything?" 

"I _would_ like total and complete silence, but I don't think they have any of that in this building. But thanks for offering," I smiled at her. 

Louise chuckled, and walked away. 

I sat at my desk staring at my computer. Just looking at it made my head pound. 

There was no way I could deal with Dan today. I just knew it. I knew that the moment he walked through those front doors, today was going to be hell. 

"Here you go Phil, one cup of total and complete silence," Louise said putting down a mug of coffee. "You look like you need it." 

"Thank you," I said sipping on it. "I do need this." 

"You didn't get enough sleep last night did you, Phil?" she asks. 

"No,: I sighed. "I got home at around midnight, argued for half an hour, and didn't end up falling asleep until like 1:30." 

"Why didn't you just come in late?" 

"Well- that." I said pointing to Dan walking through the doors. Louise turned around to look at what I was pointing at. She turned back to me with a pained look on her face. 

"Good luck mate." 

"Thank you, I'll need it." 

"Phil, please come to my office," I heard Dan say as he passed me. 

"Pray for me will you?" I said to Louise as I got up and followed Dan to his office. 

Today was gonna be shit. 


	5. hOmE eArLy

Things aren't looking up for me, in some aspects. 

On one hand, my job is going great. I'm learning fast, and I like to believe I'm doing very well. I've become, _almost_ , friends with Dan. Most times, we always go out to lunch together and we never find a topic that we can't talk about. I'm enjoying it quite a lot. 

But on the other hand, my relationship with Cherry is kind of going downhill. Ever since I forgot to pay the rent she's been quite snappy with me. Which I don't blame her for (it _was_ my fault), but I'm just tired of it. I love her so much and seeing her push me away as much as she does hurts. And that's not the only reason why she's suddenly decided to hate me. The other reason is that she thinks I'm spending too much time with Dan. 

Me, spending too long with my own boss? _My boss._ Frankly I find that reason quite ridiculous. 

_"You never spend enough time with me."_

_"You spend too long at the office."_

_"You're never home and I miss you."_

These are just a few of the excuses she tries to guilt trip me with, and it's annoying me to no end.   
I've been trying to spend more time with her. Trying to get home earlier, and planning things to do with her. I've been trying so hard, but I come home late _once_ and all my efforts have been for nothing. 

I hope this is just a rough patch in our relationship, because I can't take any more of this. Anymore of her pushing me away. 

I've talked to Louise about it and she says that she just needs space. (And that I shouldn't fuck up again but I'm not going to add that information.)

I hope that she forgives me soon. 

-

"And when did these statements occur?" Dan asked as he scribbled down on his notepad. 

Dan was currently with a client, and to be honest I wasn't really supposed to be in here but he invited me to come in anyway. 

"They started about a month ago. I brought Timmy over to his father's house for the weekend which is all the way in Norwich. And I expected him to drop him off on the following Monday, but he said that he was keeping him. We never really talked about custody so-"

"Did you ever try to go and take him back?" 

"Yes, I drove all the way back to Norwich to pick up _my_ son, but he wouldn't give him back to me. I don't think he was even at the house when I was there," the lady argued.   
Currently I was recording this conversation while writing down every bit of information I could. Yes, Dan was taking notes, but when he needs a piece of information and he doesn't have it, it's not a pretty sight I'll tell you that. 

"Well I do believe harbouring a child is illegal under federal law; but considering that this wasn't a random person, and that neither of you have discussed a custody agreement, this is sadly legal. But don't worry Ms. Robinson, you'll get your son back." Dan smiled a big smile and stood up while holding out his hand. She stood up and and shook his hand. After a couple more minutes of sharing information, she finally left. Dan sat back down in his seat and sighed. 

"So, will you actually get her son back?" I asked. 

"Not completely. The father will ask for custody, but the mother will too. They'll just get joint custody. I've done this too many times to count and that's what usually happens." He put his head in his hands, and leaned back in his chair. 

"Do you want to go get some food?" I asked calmly. 

"I though you would never ask." 

 -

"Why did you decide this job?" Dan asked shoving his mouth with food. 

"Well, I got fired from my old job, sadly." 

"What did you do?" 

"Well, I guess I didn't perform as well as I thought and apparently my boss thought that-"

"No no, I meant what did you do, like as in what was your job," Dan interrupted. 

"Oh. Oh yeah I was a weatherman for a while." 

"Why did you get fired?" he asked. 

"I honestly don't know. As I said I guess I wasn't performing as well as I should have been." 

"That sucks. What do you think you were doing wrong?" 

"I'm not quite sure. I was working there for quite a while. Maybe they just wanted to get rid of me. Maybe they wanted a younger face," I said going back to my food. 

"Really? You have a pretty young looking face if you ask me," Dan smiled. I smiled right back, a blush rising to my face. 

"Thanks for flattering me," I said looking downwards. 

"Aw is Phil blushing," Dan laughed, causing me to blush even more.

"Hey, stop that. I'm not complimented often." 

"Not even by your girlfriend? Wow, Phil. I don't think she loves you that much," he said jokingly. 

"Yeah, maybe she doesn't," I sighed looking down. 

"Oh shit did I say something again? Fuck man I'm sorry about-"

"No no it's fine," I chuckled. "We just haven't been getting along recently." 

"What's going on? Tell Uncle Dan everything." 

"Okay first off, _never_ call yourself uncle Dan _ever_ again. Please I beg you," I laughed. 

"I promise I won't call myself Uncle Dan ever again. Now tell me what's going on." 

"Well, for one thing I forgot to pay the rent and our landlord is very, impatient. And Cherry and I had made an agreement that I would always pay rent and I forgot multiple times so she had to pay him cash. And that's when it started pretty much. She's been pretty distant with me." 

"That sucks man. Good luck with it." 

"Thanks. Wanna head back to the office?" 

"Yeah." 

-

"Are you gonna pay me on time this month Lester?" 

I was walking to my flat when my landlord surprised me. 

"That's the plan," I smiled and walked into my house. I closed the door before he could speak anymore. 

"Cherry, I'm home." 

"Wow, you're early," Cherry said emerging from the bedroom. 

"Yeah, Dan let me go early. Which means I can spend time with my lovely girlfriend." She took hold of my face and kissed me passionately.

"I miss you. I miss you so much," she said kissing me again.

"I miss you too. I don't know if this is going to say a permanent thing though. But just be glad that I got off early today," I smiled. I knew she wasn't happy this was a one time thing but she seemed content.

"Why don't I make dinner and we can watch a movie?" I offered.  

"Oh, I already starter to make dinner," she spoke softly. 

"Really?"

"Yeah. I mean, you're never home this early so I wasn't expecting you and-" 

"Thank you babe. I'm sorry it can't be like this all the time," I said kissing her cheek. 

"Maybe one day it will be?" she smiled hopefully.

"If I keep this job, I'm not so sure. But hey, at least I have a job now. Gotta look on the positive side."

I kissed her cheek and walked passed her to our bedroom. I took off my sweater and work clothes and put on some sweatpants and a shirt. 

"I love you you know," Cherry said appearing at the door. 

"I know, and I love you too-"

"No you don't understand. I love you so fucking much and-" she said starting to tear up. 

"Hey hey hey," I said going to comfort her. "Where is all this coming from?" I said while rubbing her back.

"I just..I miss you, when you're not here. I know I have my job but I get off at three and you're not even back until eleven sometimes twelve and I just, I miss you," she said starting to sob. 

I sighed while bringing her in for a hug. "Look, I miss you too, but I have a job to do. I know you're sitting here by yourself all day but I promise it will be worth it." I kissed her head while she cried into my chest. 

It's becoming too much for me to handle. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't even know if what I wrote was accurate but it sounds good so i'm rolling with it  
> and this was rushed af


	6. oVeR tImE

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had no inspiration for this chapter so I'm sorry if it sucks (bc it probably does)  
> but at least I updated

You would think that after I said I might be home earlier, I would be home earlier most days. Well that's not necessarily the case. 

Maybe like, one day of the week is when I actually get home at a decent time, but even then, it's around nine at night. I'm disappointing my girlfriend so much, but you know. Whatever pays the bills, right? 

Pay the bills. I keep forgetting to do that. I really do feel bad for being so forgetful. I don't know if it's stress, or what but it needs to be fixed in order for Cherry not to hate me. I could take a day off and spend it with her, but I don't think that exists at this law firm. 

"Phil?" Louise said taking a glance from her computer, gaining my attention. 

"Yes Louise?" I said looking up at her. 

"Do you think you could do me an extra big favour?" She asked with a big smile.

"What do you need?" 

"Well, my daughter has been sick for the last couple of days, and I was wondering if you could possibly fill in for me? It's just for the weekend." 

At first I thought _"Are you mad?"_ but I realised that she hadn't necessarily had that much time off. Ever since I started working here, I've seen her every single day. I know I've never had that much time off either, but I'm still fairly new here. 

"I mean, you've been working here for a few months right? I'm not doing anything drastic or stressful I haven't been given any assignments so it should be easy." 

"I'll see what I can do," I smiled. I have no idea how I'm going to do this. How will I explain to Cherry that I have to take _two_ jobs? I don't know how I'm still alive. 

"Thank you so much, you don't know how much this means to me." 

-

"And she didn't have one receipt?" Dan said into the phone. I wrote down what I could hear. 

"No sir. She said she recently shredded all the receipts that she had. Said it was taking up too much space. I have no idea what that means." 

Dan groaned. "So you're telling me that this woman shredded all the receipts that could potentially save her ass from going to jail?" 

"That's what it sounds like to me," the other man on the line said. 

"Just fucking great," Dan said leaning back in his chair, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Well thank you Jeremy. That was a great fucking help. Have a great day." Dan hung up, and ran his hands over his face. "Please take this as a lesson to never ever lose your receipts." 

"I'll make a note of it." 

There was a silence. Not really an uncomfortable one, but one that shouldn't be as long as it was. 

"I'm so done with today," Dan said suddenly. "I can't take another day with this bullshit." 

It was at this time that Phil looked at his watch. 12:47.

"Do you want to get some lunch?" I asked quietly. 

Dan looked up from his hands. "I thought you'd never ask." He sat up from his chair, and walked out of the office, I followed closely behind. It wasn't until we got outside that Dan led me in a different direction than we usually go. 

"I hope you don't mind if we take my car. I have to stop by my flat and pick something up," Dan said leading me to his car. Which was a sleek, black, two door car that probably costs more than my life. I nodded, following him to the vehicle, carefully getting in so I didn't scratch anything. (even though I didn't touch anything other than the door handle.) Dan got in and started the car with a push of a button (technology these days) and started backing out of the lot. 

"How far away do you live?" I asked as we got onto the main road. 

"About 15 minutes. It shouldn't take very long to get there, and I'll be in and out in no time." I nodded at that. 

We went down a long, empty road before we made it to the block of flats. Dan parked the car, and told me he would be less than two minutes. This gave me ample time to look around his car. (I wasn't snooping, not going through his glove compartment or anything, I was just looking. People do that, don't they?)

Everything seemed clean-spotless is a better word-it looked like a brand new car. From the preset radio stations to the new car smell that lingered in the air, it's likely that he just got it, or maintains it really well. 

At this point it occurred to me why I suddenly had the urge to look around my boss' car. There really was no reason for me to be doing this. I guess it just gave me something to do. 

I couldn't think anymore because Dan was knocking on the window, asking me to unlock the car. I pushed the unlock button, and he entered the car. 

"What did you need to get?" I asked as Dan put his seatbelt on, and started backing out of the space. 

He sighed. "Just something. It's nothing much. Where do you want to go for lunch?" 

"We could go to the usual place, but I was thinking something else," I offered. 

"Yeah me too. There's only so many times you can eat Chinese food," he laughed. "Where were you thinking?" 

-

I slid the key through the lock, and as quietly as I could, I opened my front door. It was about one in the morning which was a ridiculous hour. I didn't even know if Cherry would be up. I'm not expecting her to be, especially at this hour. 

Closing the door as quietly as I could, I put my things down on the couch, and made my way to our bedroom. I opened the door, and closed it behind me as soon as I was in the room. Cherry was sleeping in the bed with her back to me. I kicked off my shoes and took off my jacket. I finished changing out of my work clothes and into pyjamas and slowly made my way into the bed. I got under the covers and started drifting off before I heard Cherry groan and say "Don't think you got away with it."

-

"And she just doesn't get it. She doesn't understand how much I'm working for her and for us and for our relationship and I just-" I let out a groan, putting my head in my hands. Dan was sitting across from me, being quite the therapist to me at the moment. I needed to get all this off my chest. 

"Have you told her any of this?" Dan asked. 

"Yes," I exclaim sitting up, removing my hands from my face. "I told her before I got the job, and many times while I've worked here." 

Dan took a breath before saying anything. "It doesn't sound like she's supporting you Phil," He said sadly. He looked me in the eyes, and I looked right back. "It doesn't sound like she wants you to be here. Which is quite a shame because you're one the best assistants I've ever had." 

"Really?" I ask, hoping to change the subject. 

"Yeah, all my other assistants were really only in it because apparently I'm attractive, and they wanted to see if I would give them a big sum of money for them doing nothing in return." 

"That sucks," I said. "The part about having sucky assistants I mean." 

"I agree with you. You know, it's not fun having someone constantly breathing down your neck, asking you _'Hey Dan, are you busy this weekend'?_ and having to say _'yes I actually am busy this weekend Debra.'_ It gets tiring after a while," Dan said making funny voices to mock his coworkers. I laughed at his story. 

"Honestly, why would anyone hit on someone without knowing if their single or not? Like, what if they weren't, and you just ended up embarrassing yourself."

"Oh no, everyone knows that I'm single. I've been single for a quite while actually. It's kind of a joke throughout the building, but no one really says anything on this floor because I'm on it. That's why you probably haven't heard anything about it, am I correct?"

"I haven't heard anything about this until you said it right now," I laughed. This was nice. Laughing with Dan, not actually doing work. It makes work bearable. Not saying it isn't bearable, but from time to time you need a break. I'm glad I could have it with Dan.

"Why are you single, Dan?" I ask, becoming a tiny bit serious.

"It's not my choice, really. I honestly don't want to talk about it," Dan said, his smile faltering a little bit. 

"I'm sorry. We can talk about something else if you want-" 

"No, let's just- we don't need to talk about _my_ love life," Dan interrupted. "We should get back to work shall we?" 

"We shall," I repeated. 

-

Don't get me wrong, I love Cherry with all my heart (I don't know how many times I've said this already), but at the moment I really don't want to be in the same room as her. 

I talked to Dan and asked him if I could get off a tad bit earlier (which is like 7 o'clock) so I could talk to Cherry about me staying late over the weekend. Thankfully he understood my situation and let me leave, but when I got home it was different. I thought she would be happy about me being home early, but as soon as I told her about me working extra, it was like all hell broke loose. I swear, did I get in to a relationship with a monster or something? 

"Why would you fill in for someone else without asking me, _knowing_ I wouldn't like it?" Cherry yelled at me. 

"One because I don't have to ask you if I can do things, I am a grown man. And two, because I knew you would already say no," I reciprocated. 

"But why did you take it? You knew I wouldn't like you doing that," She whined, kind of like a toddler would. 

"I'm doing something nice for a friend Cherry. Sometimes it seems like you don't like me having this job," I say, Dan's words repeating over. 

"Maybe because I don't," Cherry yelled. "I don't like you being out late, I don't like you leaving so early. I don't like it when you're not here." 

"Well Cherry, I have to work because I have to make money because I have to live somewhere." 

"Well who payed the rent the last two times, huh? Who has worked so fucking hard to maintain that place to live?" Cherry said, with tears in her eyes. 

"And who has payed you back every single cent? It's not easy for me either. You know how much I've struggled to get a new job, how many placed I've applied to that rejected me. Do you know how much that physically hurts me? Look, I'm no longer a weatherman, okay? I can't be home at 6 everyday and you should know that now. Law is fucking hard, and it would mean a lot to me if you appreciated what I do for you." 

I breathed. I closed my eyes, and took a deep breath in, exhaled out. There was silence. It was too uncomfortable. 

"Pay the rent next time, or else you're sleeping on the couch for a month," she said, and turned away into the bedroom. 

I might as well start sleeping there now. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's short and sucky but I have no inspiration to write. And also.   
> LEAVE COMMENTS AND STUFF I NEED FEEDBACK :(


	7. bLoOdY GeNiUs

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wow i updated fast  
> kind of short, kind of sucky but what else is new

Even thought Cherry might have hated it, I'm staying at the office for the whole weekend! (I'm secretly dying inside.)

I haven't been doing much more than what I usually do, but just sending out a few more emails than necessary. I hope I'm getting paid for this. (I usually don't come in on weekends.) Dan was surprised to see me at first, probably forgetting that I was coming in. After he saw me (and stared at me for more than was socially acceptable), he seemed to remember why I was here, and went on his merry way. 

It was quite quiet without Louise. I had no one to talk to about useless things, or to rant to about random things that were happening. At least I could focus a bit more on the task(s) at hand. Like, answering emails, and making coffee, and sometimes getting asked to print something. It really wasn't any different than being here during the week, although it seemed more relaxed. The reason being, I didn't know. Usually everyone here worked week-round, I remembered being told that I was under different circumstances in my interview.

_"Now, Mr. Howell has requested you not to work weekends."_

_"Why? I'm perfectly capable of working weekends," I said. I was grateful that he didn't want me to work two days a week, but it didn't really seem like the type of thing to at a regular law firm. People needed to sue someone any day of the week, right?_

_"It is not at my will to disclose that information," He said sternly. I was kind of intimidated, but I wouldn't think about it. If he didn't want me to work weekends I wasn't complaining._

I still wonder why he didn't want me to work weekends, but I don't think he wants me to ask. So I keep it to myself. 

"Phil," Dan says coming my way, holding a stack of papers. "Can you do me a favour and make a couple copies of this for me?" He put the papers down on my desk and walks away. 

"How many?" I call before he gets too far away. 

He turns back to face me, "Not that many. No more than four," He says turning back to go into his office. 

"Okay, sure. No more than four. Got it," I mumble to myself as I make my way to the copier with the papers. 

I was in the middle of my third copy, before a tall (but still young looking) boy comes up to me, holding a similar packet of papers. 

"Um, hello," he stutters, fixing his dark brown hair. 

"Hi, I'm Phil," I say holding out my hand for him to shake. "Who might you be?" 

He shakes my hand slowly, "I'm Chris. I'm an intern here." 

"How old are you, Chris?" 

"I'm about 19, sir." 

" _About_ 19? And don't call me sir, I feel too much authority when I have none," I laughed. 

"Sorry S-, Phil." He said catching himself, I chuckled. "I'm 19 years old." 

"And what are you doing here? I would expect most 19 year olds to have a job, instead of just an internship, but maybe that's just me," I said looking back at the copier to find all my copies were done. I picked them up off the tray, and held them to my chest waiting for Chris to speak. 

"Well, I do have a job during the week, but the more experience the better right?" He laughed. 

"Yeah I guess. See you later Chris," I smiled, while walking away. I made my way to Dan's office, knocking on the door (to be polite of course). I heard him say _'Come in'_ and saw him on his desk, papers covering every inch. 

"Uh, just put the copies on the chair over there. Thanks," he said keeping his eyes on the papers. He seemed uneasy, and stressed. Obviously it's whatever is on his desk that he's stressing about. 

"Do you want to talk about it?" I ask after I put down the papers. 

"About what?" he breathed, looking up at me. 

"You're tense," I said flatly. 

"I'm busy," he said looking back at the paperwork. "It's the same case with the lady who threw out her receipts." 

"You're still on that?" I asked sitting down. 

He sighed, and sat back in his chair. He ran a hand through his hair. "Yeah, I've been trying to trace back where she's been the past few months, but none of the places have anything on her card because she pays with cash most of the time. It's just-," he put his head in his hands, and groaned. 

"I understand. You sound stressed, do you want to go get lunch?" I asked hoping it would make him feel a little better. 

"God I wish I could, but I'm so fucking busy right now. Do you mind going out and getting some food? For me and you I mean, and you can bring it back here?" he asked with pleading eyes. 

"Yeah sure. Just from the Chinese place?" I ask standing, he nods. "You want your usual right?" 

"Yes please. Thank you so much." 

I was halfway out of the office before I heard him call me back. I walk back into his office before he says _'Think fast'_ and throws something at me. I catch the object in my hands and look down at what he had thrown, his car keys. 

"I trust you enough to drive my car," he said once I looked up at him. "But I swear to god if you do anything to it I will-" 

"You can trust me enough to drive your car," I interrupt before he says anything crude. "I promise I'll be careful." 

I walk out of the building and make my way to Dan's sleek black car (I'm not going to lie and say I haven't been dreaming about the day I would be back in this car again) only just realising now that it's a Jaguar (I made note of how Dan spends his money), and made my way to the Chinese place. 

-

It took all of my self control not to spend more time in this car than I had to. It was safe to say that I was in love with it. How could you blame me? I didn't know many people who had a car this fancy, and would let me drive it without so much as a real warning. I'm quite happy that Dan trusts me with things like this (like his almost £60,000 car). I just needed to get it back to the office before me and my luck destroy it. 

Luckily I made it back without so much as getting a scratch on it. I went into the building with food in hand, and made my way to Dan's office. I knocked a few times before he let me in. There were significantly less papers on his desk from when I was there before. 

"Thank god you came back, I was considering cannibalism," Dan laughed. I sat the food on an empty space on his desk, and started dishing it out. Once we had our food in front of us and started eating, Dan went back to staring at the paperwork. 

"Okay, tell me how this sounds," Dan said with a mouth full of food. "This lady, right, she goes to deposit £10,000 into her bank account. That's more than enough money for authorities to be suspicious. Except, she had no phone calls, no emails, nothing was reported to police. Tell me how that sounds to you."

"It sounds quite fishy to me," I agree. 

"Right?" Dan exclaims. "I just need to know how she got away with it." Dan picked up another piece of paper and looked at it. 

"Did she do it in installments?" I ask, eating more of my food. 

"No, all at once. Even if she did it in installments it would still be suspicious." 

"Maybe, the bank overlooked it?" I question. 

"They can't just overlook something like that, Phil. The Bank of England looks at things closely. Any bank does," he said as he took more of his food. 

"Well, maybe somebody at the bank was helping her. Have you thought of that?" 

"Yeah, it's a possibility but I'm just trying to figure out who it could be. I've thought about the owner, the moderator, everything." 

"Have you thought about the bank teller?" 

Dan froze. He looked like he had an epiphany (which he probably did). 

"Phil, I swear to god I could kiss you right now you're a fucking genius," Dan exclaimed, gathering papers and pulling out a laptop. A small blush rose up to my cheeks at his words. No one really called me a genius, or ever really said they wanted to kiss me, so that was kind of new. 

"Thanks, I guess. I was just brainstorming. Food helps me think." 

"Well we better thank this bloody Chinese place for helping you think of something that should have came to me a long time ago," he said keeping his eyes glued to his screen, food forgotten. 

He started dialing a number onto the phone he had in his office, which I assume is the bank. 

"Hello this is Dan Howell from Howell and Son's Law Firm. I would like the names of every one of your bank tellers please." 

 -

"I like you being here on the weekends, Phil," Dan said taking a few more bites of the now cold Chinese food. 

"Thanks, it's kind of nice here. I should do it more often." 

"Are you sure your girlfriend would appreciate that?" Dan asked with a hint of disgust. 

"No, but she can get over it. I need human interaction and I can't get that from one person." 

"I understand that. Is she clingy?" 

"Clingy? She's beyond clingy. If she wanted to she'll staple herself to me so she's always with me." 

Dan looked at me, and asked quietly, "But you love her though?" 

I sighed, "Yeah."

"Why do you sound so reluctant?" 

"Because I'm starting to question our relationship," I admitted. 

"Why?" Dan asked, sitting forward in his chair. 

"Because of what I've talked to you about. She doesn't seem to want to support me, and I only see her when she's mad and I hate knowing that I'm the cause of it." 

"I don't know what to say," Dan said softly. 

"It's okay, you don't have to say anything. I'll deal with it when I need to, for now let's get back to the case," I said taking any thought of Cherry out of my mind. I was at work and I couldn't waste anymore time talking about my love life. 

"We don't have to. It's getting late and you should go home," Dan offered. 

"What? Getting tired of me? At only 7? Wow this is a record for you Dan," I joked, standing up. "I'll go get my stuff packed. Have a nice night." I exit his office and head to my desk.

I felt kind of lonely. Why was that? Was it because I'm not in Dan's presence? Or because Louise still isn't here? 

Something was missing. 

Before I could think about it, I walk back to Dan's office and open the door. He looked up at me with wide eyes, obviously not expecting me to come in. 

"Do you want to get some ice cream?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> leave more comments i enjoy those


	8. dOg HoUsE

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 150 hits ????? thanks !!!!!!!  
> don't get used to me uploading every day, I just need something to do   
> (I love putting things in parenthesis don't I?)

The second day of the weekend was kind of similar. The same laid back feeling lingering in the air. It was almost calming in my eyes, I guess it was just a change of pace. 

It was quite like yesterday, except Dan was a bit more stressed than usual. He never really looked at me when I talked to him, just kept his eyes on paper work, making phone calls and staring at his computer. I couldn't blame him, he seemed really stressed. I thought it was best to leave him alone for a little bit. 

Although, it wasn't until about four when Dan finally emerged from his office to tell me  _"Let's go, we're going to the courthouse today,"_ and I almost stopped him right there. Courthouse? He never said anything about a courthouse to me. (It did say that in the application but I kind of forgot.) 

And here I am, sat in Dan's car, making our way towards the courthouse. I was kind of freaking out of the inside (not kind of, I was freaking out), and Dan didn't really seem to notice. 

"What will I do there?" I ask, breaking the silence. 

"I'll tell you when we get there," Dan said keeping his eyes on the road. 

 _"Thank you that really helps,"_ is what I wanted to say, but I kept my mouth shut as to not pester Dan any further. 

We got there and approached a big building with grand features, I was very intimidated. Nerves started pulsing through me, and my heart was beating at an irregular pace. I would be lying if I said I was fine. 

Dan lead me into the building and we checked ourselves in. We made our way to the assigned courtroom and walked in. 

"Okay it hasn't started yet," Dan mumbled and he looked at me. "Phil, since this is your first time in a courtroom, I'm going to have you sit in the stands. I would want you at the end of that table where I sit, but you really aren't ready for that. What I want you to do is take notes. Even though theres a court reporter here, I need you to take notes and add your own thoughts to them, okay?" Dan said patting my shoulder and walking towards the front of the court room. 

Eventually it started and I took as many notes as I could, adding my own details like Dan told me. I didn't really understand why I was here. I barely did anything in his office with him and I didn't really want to be here, but look at me now. 

It was when Dan was making his closing argument that I looked up. He was facing the jury, which gave me a good look at him entirely. The suit he was wearing was almost pitch black (like his car. I'm sensing a trend), his hair was becoming a bit wavy (which I have to remember to tease him about later), and he just looked kind of intimidating with the way he was standing. I can't lie and say he's not attractive because _god damn_ he is very attractive. But why am I thinking about _my boss_ this way? I can't risk the chance of being on wrong terms with my employer if he finds out I'm thinking about him in less than office-y way. 

I'm not afraid of my bisexuality, in fact I embrace it. Although I tend to keep things like that away from my employers because I have no idea how they could react to things like that. Who knows, if I come out I could be out of a job. (It's never happened to me, but I've read things like that online and the thought scares me.)

Of course Cherry knows, she's one of the only people who do. Apart from my immediate family and friends (and all the guys I've dated), I haven't really told anybody. There's really no reason to unless I want to possibly date them. I usually bring that up within the third or fourth date so they don't get their hopes up _too_ much (if they do in fact hate my guts). This is only with girls though. I tend to be more open with guys. Not saying I haven't met a biphobic homosexual man in my lifetime, but they generally tend to be more accepting.

At this moment I realised that I was writing nothing down, even though I probably didn't need to write anything down at this part, but I just wanted to make it seem like I was there for a reason. I turned to a new page and started to write out fast lines of short hand, and just random crap. I would remind myself to rip this page out when I gave the note pad to him later. I realised that I probably had been writing for a little bit too long when I found Dan calling my name. When I looked up I realised almost the entire room was empty and Dan was looking like he wanted to bite my head off. 

I made my way over to Dan who was standing beside the table. "Hello, sorry I was a bit-"

"Distracted?" Dan finished for me. 

"Yeah I guess," I shrugged. 

Dan was setting files in his briefcase (which I really didn't see him take in but then again I was freaking out) and he took the pad of paper out from my hands and put it in there as well. He looked at me sincerely, "Do you think I did a good job?" 

"Yeah. I mean, I haven't seen a lawyer _'in action'_ before so I really have nothing to go on. But yeah I think you did well," I smiled. 

"Thanks," he smiled, going back to his briefcase. 

In the end, they found the lady guilty of money laundering (or something I really couldn't remember) and ended up arresting multiple people who I don't know the names of (or really never will). 

Once Dan and I headed back to his car, it was almost 9 o'clock, and I was starving. 

"Hey Dan?" I asked getting in the passenger's seat. 

"Yeah?" he said while starting the car. 

"Are you hungry? They didn't really give us enough time to eat during any breaks." 

"I'm kind of hungry, we could stop somewhere if you want. Although I really don't want to get out of this car anytime soon so I hope you're okay with fast food," he said driving away from the courthouse. 

"I'm perfectly okay with that. I just need something in my stomach before I become a wild beast," I laughed. 

Dan smiled, "That would be something." 

-

We ended up sitting in the parking lot of a fish n' chip shop, eating what the name implied they served. We didn't end up leaving though, until about an hour later. It was almost 10 pm, and Dan still had to take me back to the office to get my car, and for me to drive home. I wouldn't be home until almost 11, but that's the time I usually get home anyway so it wasn't a big deal. 

Once we pulled out of the restaurant parking and started heading back to the office, Dan started to look a bit uncomfortable. 

"Are you okay, Dan?" I ask. 

"Yeah, I'm fine," Dan said making a turn. 

"Dan, we've passed that pub twice now. Do you know where we're going?" 

"Yeah I'm fine." 

"Do you have a GPS?" 

"No, but I don't need it I'm okay. We'll be there in fifteen minutes" 

"If you insist." 

Another fifteen minutes of quiet driving in the dark and I was about to lose it when I saw nothing that looked remotely familiar to being near the firm, I almost lost it.

"Okay, I'll use my phone as a GPS because I have no idea where we are," I said angrily, pulling out my phone.

"Phil, we don't need anything I know where I'm-" 

"Where are we then?" I ask roughly. 

He took a second to respond. "I don't know," he said quietly. 

"That's what I thought," I said turning my phone on. I opened the Maps app and tried to find our location. I was interrupted when Cherry called me. I honestly wasn't in the mood to talk to anyone, and I just wanted to get home so I declined it. I continued to put in our information and I found out we were a half hour away from the law firm. I was a bit upset but there really wasn't anything I could do about it. I told Dan where we were, and I led him back to where the office was. 

We only got there at about 10:45 pm and I was tired. At this point I remembered I had to get all my other things from my office, which took about fifteen minutes. With a quick goodbye to Dan, I made my way downstairs, into my car and made my way home. 

I was expecting to see a dark house with a sleeping Cherry in our bed, but that's not what I got. Mind you it's almost 11:30 at this point and I just wanted to sleep. What I found was Cherry sitting on the couch facing the TV, waiting for me to get home. But she didn't look happy. 

"I'm home," I said softly, closing the door. 

"I can't believe you," she said shaking her head. 

I was taken aback. I wasn't expecting this at all. "What did I do?" I asked sincerely. 

"What didn't you do, Phil?" she said getting off the couch and making her way towards me. "What do you think I'm supposed to remind you of everything now?" 

"What?" I tried to interrupt her, but she kept going. 

"What now that you've got some fancy job I'm supposed to do everything now, Phil? Because if I remember correctly that's not how we agreed on doing anything," she yelled. 

"Babe, babe tell-" 

"Don't babe me!" she yelled. "Don't you dare call me anything you piece of shit." 

"Can you just tell me what I did? Maybe I'll understand why you're yelling at me after a long ass day at work when all I wanted was sleep."

"Phil," she said after she took a breath. "What day is it?" 

"It's Sunday," I said. 

"But it's not just any Sunday, Phil!" she yelled. "It's bill Sunday. You know the bill that our greasy Landlord pushes you to pay so we can still live here? You forgot to pay the rent _again_ you fucking _fuck_ ," she said closing her eyes, and running her hand through her hair. I could see tears forming and I was such a dick. 

I'm such a forgetful dickhead sometimes. 

"Cherry, fuck, I'm so sorry," I said putting my hand on her shoulder, but she shook me off. 

"Don't you dare put your hands on me Phil Lester!" she screamed. 

"I'm so fucking sorry is there anything I can do I-" 

"You didn't even answer my calls! What is so important at your job that you can't even answer your girlfriend's phone call?" she cried. 

"I'm sorry, Dan was lost and-" 

"You know what, I don't even want to hear it," she was full on sobbing right now. "I don't even want to see you right now." 

"Okay, that's okay. I'll sleep on the couch," I said quietly, but she just shook her head. 

"No. No, you're not sleeping here tonight," she said slowly. 

I looked at her like she was crazy. "Really?" 

"You've let me down one too many times, and I just need a break. Please, get some things and just, please just leave." 

I looked at her, hoping to see anything in her eyes that said she didn't actually want me to go, but I found none. All I saw was fear, and anger. She really wanted me out, and I was okay with that. (I really wasn't but what was I going to do?)

I packed a bag with some clothes, and toiletries because I didn't know when I was coming back and made my way back into the living room. I stood in front of her, her arms crossed and her head still down. 

"Text me when you want me to come back. If that's ever," I paused. I leaned in to kiss her cheek, but she just turned her head away, and said nothing. 

I left without another word spoken between us. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> honestly i don't know how accurate (or inaccurate) I am with this fic. but keep in mind that it's all fiction :)  
> i love comments and kudos and please leave some bc i need validation


	9. sLeEpOvErS aNd CoNfEsSiOnS

I really should have seen that coming, in all honesty. With her already warning me about sleeping on the couch and what not, I really should have seen this coming.

Since it's midnight, I don't think any hotels would be open it would be odd to call my mum and let me stay over there (especially since it takes a while to get there), I have nowhere to go. I have no family who live around, no friends, I'm practically homeless at the moment. 

_Unless..._

No no no, he wouldn't do that. He doesn't seem like the kind of person to do that. 

_But you've just been kicked out of your own flat, and you can't just sleep on the ground can you?_

Better get calling. 

It would be great to have a phone that was charged though. This night just gets better doesn't it?

I'm pretty sure I won't be too much of a nuisance to Dan for letting me spend one single night at his flat, right? I just need to get there first. 

I shove everything into my car, and start making my way to where I think Dan's flat was. (At this point I could have charged my phone in the car but give me credit it's midnight and I've had a very, very long day.)

I reach a familiar looking building at around half past, and make my way towards the front. I found Dan's flat number (thank god) and buzzed for him. 

"Dan? Are you in?" I said pressing the button. I waited a moment before I heard something on the other side. 

"Phil? What the hell are you doing here?" he asked sounding groggy. 

"I can explain it in person. Please let me up," I asked sounding like I was going to cry, I kind of was. 

"Yeah sure, one sec," Dan said before the door buzzed. I walked in, hearing the door click behind me. I made my way up to his flat, and knocked on the door. I was met with the face of Dan Howell, in a long sleeved shirt and pyjama bottoms. Hair all out of place and eyes half shut. He looked me up and down, realising I had a bag slumped over my shoulder. 

"Why are you stood in front of me, at 12:30 am, with a duffel bag?" Dan said yawning, rubbing his eyes. 

"Um, my girlfriend kicked me out, and I don't really have a place to sleep tonight. I thought maybe you would be kind enough to let me stay here just for the night, please," I said sincerely. 

Dan paused. "Oh, oh yeah, um, come in," Dan said making way for me to enter. Everything was dark for a minute before he turned on a light overtop a counter. It shone over a granite topped island in the middle of a very large kitchen, fitted with stainless steel appliances. It reminded me of Dan. 

"So what happened?" Dan said turning on the kettle. 

I took a seat at one of the barstools near the island. "Well my girlfriend kicked me out, obviously, which is why I'm here." 

"What did you do to make her kick you out?" he said getting out two mugs and some tea bags. 

"I forgot to pay the rent, again. I swear I'm such a fuck up sometimes."

"Don't say that," he said facing me. "Who knows, this may be a good thing. You did say you two were fighting a bit. Maybe a break is what you guys need."

I thought it over. "Yeah, maybe. I'm more mad at myself for forgetting all the time. I feel like I've let down the only thing that truly matters to me." 

I stare at Dan for a bit longer, and he stares at me. I can tell by the way his eyes are moving that he's looking over my whole face, and I look at his. 

He's intriguing. 

"Maybe you need a change," he said turning back to the kettle, putting the tea bags in the mugs. 

-

We ended up on his couch, facing the ceiling. Our heads were next to each other on the L shaped cushion. We decided to see how long we could stay up until, even though we had work the next morning. Two empty mugs were on the glass coffee table, and two heads were formulating ideas as to what we should say next. Somehow we ended up on relationships. 

"You never told me," I started. "exactly _why_ you've never had a relationship recently. Whenever we talk about it, it's always about me, but we never talk about you." 

"I'm busy." He shrugged. "I never have time for a relationship. I've...I've tried relationships when I first started working at the firm, but they never worked out. I stopped trying when I noticed the trend of failed relationships." 

Turning my head to him, I asked "When was the last time you had a girlfriend?" 

"Probably... around year 9 I think," he nodded. Although something didn't add up. 

If the last girlfriend he had was in year 9, but he said he had relationships fairly recently...

"Wait," I said sitting up, and facing him. "If you've had relationships while you worked at the firm, but-" 

"Shit," he interrupted, turning his body towards the side of the couch away from me. "Fuck fuck I didn't mean for that to happen." 

"Dan-" 

He turned back to me quickly. "Please don't tell me you're homophobic please this could ruin my reputation-" 

"Dan," I said taking hold of his face to shut him up. "I don't care what you are. It would make me a hypocrite if I were to hate you." 

His eyes went wide. "You're gay?" he whispered.

"Bi actually," I said not letting go of his face. I stared into his eyes, while he stared back into mine. It was almost mesmerizing. How a pair of organs can be so beautiful. Varying shades of light and dark brown mixed together like a piece of art. 

Dan was a piece of art. 

"Do you ever have the urge to kiss someone, but you don't know how they'll react?" Dan whispered, bringing his hand to my cheek. 

"I have that feeling right now," I whispered back. My heart was going a million miles a minute, I could feel it beating out of my chest, and I bet Dan could too. 

"Do you want to see how they'll react?" 

"Please." 

Without another second to spare, we both leaned forward and met in the middle. Soft and slow, but too short. We tore apart, our hands in the same place, eyes locked on each other. We leaned back in and kissed with urgency. Dan's hand traveling to my neck, while my hands made their way to his waist. He pushed me back so I was sitting properly on the couch, with Dan straddling my thighs. He kept his hands on me. 

After a few minutes of mindlessly making out on Dan's sofa, he started to grind down on my hips. I noticed he was semi-hard, which wasn't was I was expecting. Hell I wasn't even expecting this to happen, but look where I am now. 

"Dan," I said pushing him off of me. He tore away from my mouth, and fuck he looked beautiful. Lips red and swollen, pupils dilated with lust, I could ravish him right now if I wanted to. (And god did I want to.)

"What?" he breathed. Chest going up and down at a rampant rate, gaining back some oxygen. 

"This is really hard for me to say," I mumbled. "But, I don't want this to look like a rebound when we wake up, do you understand?" 

He looked at me with big eyes. "Yeah, yeah I get it," he said a bit disappointed. He moved to get off of me, but I stopped him. 

"But, just because I don't want to have sex, doesn't mean you get to stop making out with me."

He smiled, and his lips were back on mine. 

I woke up to arms around me the next morning, and I could honestly get used to this.  

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it's v short and v late   
> but :))  
> leave comments pls i crave validation


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